Bitten Under the Moon
by Wild Growlithe
Summary: Ash is bitten by a Houndoom and a horrible curse falls on him. Will anyone be able to save him? ~aaml of course~
1. The First Night

Disclaimer: POKEMON IS NOT MINE GODDAMIT!!! thank you.

Ok, this is my fic for halloween. Why am I starting so early? So it won't be December by the time I finish. I'll get back to Time and Space Adventures soon. Till then, enjoy.....

****

Bitten Under the Moon: The first night

It was a dark night. Not a dark stormy night, just a dark one. The night sky was covered by many clouds, each spreading their way across the stars and the moon, creating near to total darkness. In the forest, many of the diurnal pokemon were tucked away in their nests, sleeping soundly. The nocturnal pokemon stalked through the dark forest, in search of any prey to fill their stomachs. The silence of the black night was disturbed as an eerie howl cut through it. The long drawn out call did not have the usual sad tone to it that other howls did. This cry had a frightening, almost dangerous sound to it. Many of the sleeping pokemon woke, wide-eyed, cowering and trembling in their nests. Even the nocturnal pokemon stopped in their tracks, fear causing their fur and feathers to stand on end. All the pokemon of the forest knew that howl....and they knew to fear it. 

****

The night was October 31st, All Hallows Eve. Better known as Halloween. Ash, Misty and Brock were cooling down from a Halloween party at the nearby pokemon center. The party had been a lot of fun for the trio, consisting of games, costumes, and of course, food. And wherever there was food, Ash was sure to gorge himself. The young trainer had managed to win nearly every game of bobbing for apples, having Pikachu steal many of his prizes for himself to eat. He also cleared out more than half of the refreshment table, much to the embarrassment of his companions. And finally, there was the candy. Nurse Joy and her Chanseys seemed to have an unlimited amount of it, and were handing it out to anyone who wanted some, always cheery. Ash made sure that as much of the candy as possible wound up in the bottomless pit that was his stomach. By the end of the party, Misty was shocked that he hadn't popped by now. As the rest of the partygoers cleared out, Ash Misty and Brock stayed behind so that Brock could show off his homemade golbat costume off to Joy. Ash groaned. He didn't feel like he had the patience for this. The next city wasn't too far away, and that meant that his next badge wasn't either. Though Misty disliked the idea of sleeping outside on Halloween, Ash had decided that that was what they were going to do. She knew it was pointless to argue the issue, because Ash was very determined about this and would probably go out there with or without her and Brock. And having him out there on his own was even more frightening to her than being out there herself. She glanced over at Ash, whose annoyed expression went well with the charizard costume he was wearing. She herself had gone as a mermaid, turning the bottom part into a dress so no one would see her feet at the bottom, and making the tail stick out of the back. But now it was getting annoying and she wanted to change. 

"Hey Ash," She called to him. He looked over at her. "Let's go change in the bathroom and then drag moron out of here, ok?" 

Ash nodded. "Good plan, Mist. Let's go." With that, he walked into the men's room. Misty followed and headed to the woman's room. Both emerged later in their normal attire. "Hey Brock!" Ash called to the flirting squinty man. "Come on, we're going." Brock paid no attention to his friend and continued talking, while poor Joy continued to smile and nod. Ash and Misty looked at each other, turned back to Brock, and simultaneously walked over to him and pulled him away, ignoring his cries of protest. Pikachu hopped up on Ash's shoulder and Togepi dozed quietly in Misty's backpack. 

Ash and Misty walked away from the center, Brock being dragged, all waving goodbye. 

"Goodbye Nurse Joy! Think of me! I'll see you again somedaaay!!" Brock cried as he was dragged off. Nurse Joy waved to all of them, the wings on her tinkerbell costume bouncing up and down. Ash took one last look at the center and its decorations, including the cardboard sign with a cute little Sentret saying: "Remember kids, no candy from strangers and don't stay out too long!" Then the trio turned around and headed toward the woods.

****

Standing at the edge of the Black Forest was a little frightening for Misty. She could see where it had gotten it's name from. The trees were so dense that they blocked out almost any light that would otherwise have perpetrated the darkness. It was pitch black in there. They could also hear the growls and scurrying of wild nocturnal pokemon, and many things are a lot scarier when you can't see them.

"A-Ash? Are you sure you want to go in there? It doesn't look very safe to me..." Misty stated nervously.

"Aw, come on. What's the matter Misty, you're not scared are ya?" Ash teased.

"O-of course not! I'm just saying that one of us could get hurt in there or something." She lied.

"Don't worry about it." He answered calmly. "Even if we do get lost, we can just wait until morning to go on. And don't forget that we've all got flashlights. And even if there are ghost pokemon out there, I've got Noctowl with me, and she can see through their tricks." Misty still didn't look convinced. "Come on Misty, it's important! I've got to get to the next gym as soon as possible!" Misty finally gave in. She should've known it would be no use.

"Okay....we'll go."

"OH NO YOU WON'T!" An old scraggly sounding voice shouted. A hideously ugly wrinkled face popped in front of the trio. All three screamed in fear, Misty clinging to Ash, Brock falling to the ground, and Pikachu making his own terrified "Chaaaaa!"

"Will you please calm down!" The ugly creature said angrily. Ash Misty and Brock regained their senses and looked down to see a short, ugly old woman standing before them. Ash bent down in front of her. 

"Um....are you human?" He asked. The old woman grabbed one of his cheeks and pulled hard. "

"YES I'm human and you'd better mind your manners in front of your elders young man!" She screamed in his ear.

"Waaaa..." Ash said when she finally let go.

"I should've expected this..." Brock said. "Every time we're about to enter a spooky forest or go on some other supernatural adventure, some ugly old woman always manages to show up." The lady kicked him in the kneecap. 

"Watch your mouth, sonny!" She snapped as Brock cried in pain.

"Excuse me ma'am, but who are you?" Misty asked politely. The lady looked at her. 

"Ah, at least one of you seems to have manners. My name is not important, my dear. I am here to warn you to stay out of this forest tonight." She said, finally revealing her objective. Ash stopped rubbing his sore cheek and looked up. 

"What do you mean?" He snapped. "I've gotta go through here to get to the next gym so I can collect all of the Johto league badges!"

"Not tonight, you don't." The woman answered. "Those woods are very dangerous tonight children.....the dark pokemon are out."'

"Dark pokemon?" Ash asked. "We've run into dark pokemon before, ma'am. They're not as bad as people think they are." The woman shook her head.

"But tonight is different, lad. On this night, the dark pokemon in that forest become mischievous. They play tricks and are capable of casting horrible curses on unfortunate travelers. It is too great of a risk to take by going in there." Misty looked scared. 

"Guys, maybe she's right. Maybe we shouldn't-"

"Misty, don't tell me you believe old wives' tales like that." Ash protested. "It's probably just some made-up story."

"He's right Misty." Brock added. "The whole thing does sound pretty farfetched." 

The old woman shook her head once more. "Fine, ignore my warning if you must. But I tell you, there will be a price to pay if you dare venture in there!"

"Well Mist, are you coming or staying?" Ash asked. Misty already knew what his decision would be, she knew that if he went, so would she. She sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I'm coming." Ash smiled.

"Great, let's go." And with that, the three humans and their pokemon entered the darkness of Black forest. The old woman's voice cried out to them one last time.

"May the gods have mercy on you!"

****

Ash held his flashlight out in front of him to light the way, though its light only helped a little. He constantly checked over his shoulder to see if Misty and Brock were still behind him. The last thing he wanted was one of them getting lost. Ash was especially concerned about Misty, who seemed very scared to come in to the forest in the first place. He did feel a little guilty about dragging her in, but his ambition was too great for him to wait another day to leave. While he was thinking, a screech followed by a high-pitched laugh was heard through the treetops. A sneasel was sitting in one of the trees, laughing at the silly humans as it picked several apples with its claws. One by one it hurled the fruit at the travelers, laughing the whole time. Brock gritted his teeth and covered his head with his backpack. Misty clung to Ash's arm, trembling. Ash knew that she would grab onto him like that only when she was really scared. He didn't mind, but right now he had to do something. 

"Pikachu, go!" He shouted. "Use your thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as he leapt into action. But before he could attack, the little mouse stopped his charge. He looked back to Ash. "Pikapi, pikaa pikachuu..."

"Wa...oh no, Pikachu's right. He can't attack the pokemon if he can't see it!" Ash pointed his flashlight in all directions, but the laughing seemed to be coming from all directions. He pulled another poke ball from his belt. "Noctowl, I choose you! Use foresight to show us where that pokemon is!" Noctowl came from her poke ball and shot red beams from her eyes, finally revealing the location of the offending sneasel. The pokemon cringed when hit with the light. Without giving Pikachu a chance to attack, it hissed angrily at the trio and disappeared out of sight in a blur. Misty finally let go of Ash. 

"What on earth was that?" She asked.

"I don't know...I didn't get a chance to analyze it." Ash answered. "Brock, did it look familiar to you?" Brock shook his head.

"I can't say I've ever seen one of those before. It must've been one of those newly discovered pokemon." He said. "But it was almost definitely a dark type."

Misty looked worried. "Ash, what if what that old lady said was true? What if the dark pokemon out here are going to do terrible things to us?" Ash snuffed.

"Don't worry about it Misty. You saw how easily we scared it away. We'll be just fine. Come on, let's keep going." Ash and Pikachu lead the way, Misty nervously following, and Brock bringing up the rear.

After walking a little while longer, Brock estimated that they were at least halfway through the forest. Ash finally agreed to let the group set up camp. Misty and Brock eagerly went along with his decision, and camp was set up in a matter of minutes. While Brock was sitting by the small campfire reading and Misty was tucking into her sleeping bag, making sure it was especially close to Ash's, Ash was sitting on a log, looking at the surrounding darkness, wondering what was out there. Pikachu was sitting comfortably on his lap. Suddenly, the silence of the forest was broken by the sound of a twig snapping. Pikachu's ears twitched and he perked his head up, sniffing the air.

"What's the matter Pikachu?" Ash asked. Pikachu looked at him, a serious expression on his little face. He pointed out in the direction of the woods.

"Pikachu ka."

"Something's out there?" Ash translated. Pikachu nodded. "Maybe we should check it out. Come on Pikachu." With that, Ash got up and started following Pikachu in the direction of the noise.

"Ash, what are you doing? It's dangerous out there." Misty said worriedly. 

"I'll be fine Misty." Ash said, flicking on his flashlight. "I'm just gonna check out what made that noise."

"Just...be careful." The worry in her voice was still there. "It would be pretty pointless if you got lost, seeing that you're the reason we came here in the first place." She added. Ash half-smiled.

"Yeah, yeah...I'll be careful." And Ash and Pikachu went off to investigate.

****

"Hey Pikachu, I don't see anything out here...actually I don't see anything at all....are you sure there was something walking around?" Ash asked his pokemon.

"Pi." Pikachu confirmed.

"Alright, but if we don't find something soon, we're gonna-" Just then Pikachu stopped dead in his tracks, little yellow hairs bristling. Ash also froze, noticing his pokemon's sudden alert. He turned his flashlight in the direction that Pikachu was intently staring, but the beam of light suddenly flickered and died out. "Oh, shit." Ash said, smacking the flashlight in a fruitless attempt to revive it. While still trying to fix the light, another faint light caught Ash's attention. He looked over and saw that it was two lights...two eyes, glowing red in the dark. A deep-throated, menacing growl was coming from their direction. "Wha...what the-" At the sound of Ash's voice the growl escalated into a snarl, vicious and cold. Ash put on his determined "I'm-ready-to-battle" face. "Pikachu, use a flash!" Pikachu obeyed and faintly light the area. It wasn't as bright as a flash should normally be, but it was enough to reveal the owner of the glowing eyes. Ash gulped as he looked at the snarling, black devil-horned dog in front of him, whose eyes were still glowing an unnatural red. He pulled his pokedex out of his pocket and pointed it at the pokemon. 

"Houndoom: The dark pokemon. The evolved form of Houndour. Its flamethrower and bite attacks are extremely painful. The mere howl of a Houndoom will send other pokemon running for their nests in fear. Though it can be a tame and caring pokemon, Houndoom in the wild can be extremely dangerous. Approach with caution."

"Hm, another dark type." Ash said. _But I wonder why this one's eyes are red...the one in the picture has brown eyes. _He thought to himself. _Maybe it's using its leer attack... _ "Well dangerous or not, it's still a pokemon, and I can still catch it! Pikachu! Use thundershock, now!" Pikachu acted on Ash's orders immediately.

"Piiika..._chuuuuuuuuu!_" He cried, sending a strong bolt of electricity in the malevolent Houndoom's direction. The dark pokemon bared its fangs, and in one swift movement, dodged the thundershock, leapt over Pikachu, and dove at Ash. Ash quickly shielded himself with his arms, and the Houndoom knocked him to the ground, digging its fangs deep into his arm. Ash cried out in pain as the bite sank deeper and deeper, drawing more and more blood. Pikachu attacked in an instant, sending a thunderbolt straight for the attacking pokemon. This time the electric attack hit its mark, and the Houndoom let out a painful howl, releasing Ash from its grip. Pikachu shocked the devil dog again, forcing it to back away. The little mouse then picked up Ash's flashlight and charged his electricity through it, making the light ten times brighter than it was before. He shone the light directly at his enemy, singing his eyes and causing his dark energy great pain. The Houndoom let out another yelp when hit by the light, and dashed off into the darkness, far from Ash and Pikachu. Once he was sure the danger was gone, Pikachu rushed to Ash's side.

"Pikapi! Pikapi, pi pikachu?"

"Yeah...I'm okay Pikachu...." Ash said weakly. "We've got to get back to the others-AAHH!" Ash cried out as the terrible bite on his arm started inflicting great pain. It was unbearable...he was starting to feel faint. "P-Pikachu...get...help..." And Ash blacked out. 

"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried. What was he going to do? There was no way he was going to leave Pikapi out here by himself, unconscious. Just then he had an idea. Pikachu carefully plucked a poke ball off of Ash's belt and opened it. Noctowl materialized in front of him. "Pika, Pikapi ka pikachu! Cha! Pipika, chu!" Noctowl understood.

"Hooooo!" She cried as she took off to find Misty and Brock. Pikachu knew that Noctowl was able to see fine in the darkness, and would safely lead Pikachupi and the Squinty one to where Pikapi was. Moments later, she returned with the other two humans following close behind.

"Ash? Ash, are you alright?" Misty called. Once she was close enough, Misty was able to see what had happened by the light of Ash's flashlight, which was lying on the ground beside him. There he was, sprawled out, his arm over his chest, pouring out deep red blood and covering his body. "Oh my god! Ash! Ash say something! Oh god, no! What happened? Ash!" She ran to him and lifted his head. His chest was moving up and down slowly. She sighed briefly, he was still alive. Brock came running over too.

"Misty, this is bad! We've got to get him back to camp right away!"

"I know!" Misty yelled, tears coming down her face. Desperately, she tried lifting him up. Brock took off his vest and wrapped it tightly around Ash's arm. He then lifted the boy onto his back and carried him back to camp, Misty holding the vest onto his arm the whole time.

Once camp was reached, Brock immediately set Ash down on his sleeping bag. He ran to his backpack to get his canteen out. Misty was holding Ash's head in her lap, stroking his hair gently and pleading with him to wake up. Tears were falling from her face onto his. Brock came back with his canteen and quickly removed the vest from Ash's arm. He poured the cold water from the canteen over his young friend's arm, doing his best to clean the wound. He took out a washcloth and carefully started cleaning the blood and dirt off of the bite. Ash winced painfully as he felt his wound being touched, and Misty stroked his face to calm him. Slowly, she noticed that Ash was opening his eyes. 

"Ash? Ash, can you hear me?" She asked.

"Yeah..." He answered groggily. "I can...Argh! That hurts!"

"I know it hurts Ash, but I've got to clean this wound on your arm or it'll become infected." Brock explained. Ash gritted his teeth and tried to bear the pain as he realized that his head was resting on Misty's lap. Not only that, but her hand was resting on his cheek. He liked it, but why was she doing it? He looked up at her.

"Misty?"  
"Um...well you needed something to rest on quickly and it was all I could think of." She explained quickly.

"Oh." He said, leaning his head against her hand and shutting his eyes, trying to ignore the pain.

"There, finished." Brock said, finally removing the washcloth. He then proceeded to place a gauze on the bite, took bandage tape out of his backpack, and wrapped it tightly around Ash's injured arm. "Think you can get up Ash?" Brock asked. Ash moaned slightly. He was comfortable where he was. Putting that aside, he tried hard to force himself back to his feet. With Misty's help he was able to stand. "Now, walk to your sleeping bag and lie down. You need to rest." Brock instructed. Ash did as he was told and got into his sleeping bag. "One more thing Ash." Brock said. "Just what happened out there?"

"Wild pokemon...Houndoom...it had red, glowing eyes....I tried to battle it...and it bit me...hard.

"Houndoom?" Brock repeated.

"Yeah." Ash tossed pulled out his pokedex and handed it to Brock. The rock trainer looked up Houndoom's information as Ash had before. 

"Ash, if you knew this thing was dangerous, why did you attack it?" Misty asked.

"It looked like it was going to attack me..." He answered. "Besides, I've fought dangerous pokemon before. If I'm going to be a master, I can't be afraid of a pokemon, no matter how dangerous."

"Well, don't ever do anything like that again, understand?" She asked.

"You know I can't promise you that...."

"Then I'll make sure you don't." She said, lying on her own sleeping bag and scooting close to him. "Now go to sleep."

"Yes, ma'am." He said with a slight laugh. He shut his eyes, but only for a minute before wincing in pain again. Misty saw his pain. She reached over, put her hand on his bandaged arm, and gently rubbed it. She could tell by the look on his face that she was soothing his pain a little. He looked at her and smiled. 

"Thank you..." Was all he said before finally drifting off. Misty stayed awake and remained beside him, doing all she could to care for him.......

****

The moon was invisible to the inhabitants of the Black Forest, but out in the night sky it was waning...tomorrow it would be full.....

To be continued.....

Ooohhh...scary....or not. Just wait. Hahahahaaa!


	2. The Second Night

Here's chapter 2. Don't expect 3 to be out as soon as this one was. I need to go back to school. Remember, this is bloody, so weak stomachs turn away. Hey, it might not be that bad....read on!

Bitten Under the Moon: the second night

The next morning was very much welcomed by Ash and his friends. They were still in the Black forest, so morning more resembled twilight. But thankfully, the frightening sounds of the dark pokemon were gone, as they were all in their nests asleep. And if what the old woman said was true, then they would go back to being normal behaving pokemon. 

The soft chirping of Pidgey and Spearow woke Misty, as she noticed that the forest was finally lit. Yawning, the young girl stood up and stretched. She saw that Brock was cooking some breakfast while Pikachu and Togepi shared some Poke chow. The one thing she noticed that was different was that Ash was not awake. He was usually the first one up, full of energy and liveliness. But she glanced over to where he had slept next to her and saw that he was still in dreamland. Misty saw the bandage on his arm and remembered what had happened to him the night earlier. The poor thing needed rest now. She sat down next to him and gently stroked his wild black hair. She began whispering to him.

"Ash, please don't do something like that again. I'd be lost without you here....even though I'm often lost with you here too." A light laugh came to her after saying that. "But seriously, be careful from now on...and remember I'll always be there to help you out of any trouble you're in." Misty knew that he couldn't hear her, but she just kept softly talking to him, running her hand through the spikes of his hair. Brock watched, and smiled.

****

Later that day, Ash finally had awoken, but not in the best health.

"Oohh...my head is killing me...." He groaned.

"That's normal...I think." Brock tried reassuring him. He gave the boy a bottle of pain killer. "See if that helps."

"Thanks Brock." Ash said in a weakened voice. Misty looked at him with concern.

As the trio continued walking through the forest, everyone started to notice that Ash was looking very weak. After a couple of miles, he was falling behind, looking terrible. Misty, Brock and Pikachu all stopped walking.

"Hey guys, what's the hold up?" Ash's voice still sounded awful.

"Ash, we can't keep going with you in this condition. We have to stop." Brock said sternly, knowing that Ash wouldn't accept that easily. 

"Brock...I told you guys that I wanted to get through here as soon as possible...I'm not gonna let some stupid old bite on my arm to slow us down...."

"But Ash, you are slowing down. It's like all your energy is being drained. You can't keep going like this." Misty told him.

"Chu, Pikapi." Pikachu added. They all looked at Ash, and he could see the stubbornness on their faces as well as the concern.

"Alright....we'll stop. But just for a little while."

"First, we'll see how you're feeling before we go anywhere Ash." Brock stated.

****

Again, the trio set up a temporary camp. Brock went to checking his pokemon and making some food for the others. Misty and Pikachu kept a close watch on Ash. The poor boy was asleep again, resting on both his sleeping bag and Misty's, which she had given to him. Ash didn't seem to be sleeping soundly, as he tossed and turned, little beads of sweat forming on his brow. Pikachu pulled out a little Pika-fan to cool him off, while Misty held his arm again and gently rubbed it. 

Afternoon passed into evening, and it looked like the trio was going to have to stay in the Black Forest again. Nobody was too thrilled about it, but it was more important to all of them that Ash was alright. Misty, having no sleeping bag, propped herself up against a log so that she could fall asleep. She made sure that she was no further than a foot away from Ash. Pikachu snuggled by his trainer's feet, and Brock slept calmly in his own sleeping bag.

Ash's sleep remained unpeaceful. His dreams were filled with horrible images...death....blood......a red-eyed monster causing all of it.....familiar.....who was he? Slashing claws....fangs dripping with blood...those eyes, those horrible eyes...gleaming in the night. Red and angry. Heavy paw prints headed toward camp...toward his friends....coming closer....no! He couldn't stop it! Soon it would be upon them....

__

Aaaaarroooooooooooooo........

A frightening howl echoed through the woods, somehow jolting Ash out of his nightmare-ridden sleep. He shot up, panting hard, sweat pouring down his face. _It...was only...a dream..._He thought with relief. _I'm still here...Brock and Pikachu too...and...where's Misty? _Brief panic seized him as he looked around for her, suddenly spotting her beside him, fast asleep against the log. Ash sighed with relief. He remembered that she had given him her sleeping bag, and felt a pang of guilt. Carefully, he picked one of them up and placed it over her sleeping form, so she would at least be warm. He smiled at her for a moment...and his thoughts were interrupted by a noise from nearby.

****

Three figures were climbing through the treetops of the Black Forest, making their way slowly and silently toward Ash and friends. One of them suddenly lost his footing, causing him to shout out and reach for his companion's long hair for support.

"Aarrgh! James, what are you doing?" Jesse hissed angrily at him.

"I-I'm sorry Jesse, I almost fell." James whined. "What are we doing here anyway? Wouldn't it be easier if we just walked on the ground?" 

"That's exactly what the twerp and his friends would be expecting. If we sneak up on them from above, they won't be able to hear our footsteps or see us coming. Besides, they're all asleep, so this is the perfect time to capture Pikachu."

"Dat's right!" Meowth said as he gracefully leaped over to them from branch to branch. He was very much at home up in the trees. "Dat little mouse won't even know what hit him when dis cat pounces."

"That's the spirit Meowth. Now come on, we're losing valuable time." Jesse said as James reluctantly followed her through the trees. Carefully, he grabbed hold of a nice thick limb, very close to the top of the trees. Unbeknownst to James, the limb was rotting off. It snapped, leaving James hanging from it by a thread, and tearing a hole in the canopy. "Jesseeee! Jesse help meeee!" He cried.

"Shh! Be quiet James, do you want the entire forest to hear us?" Jesse whispered angrily as she grabbed his hand and helped him up.

"Jesse, this is too dangerous! I think that we're close enough to the twerps' camp, why don't we just walk the rest of the way? One of us could be killed!" Jesse sighed. He had a slightly legitimate point. 

"Alright, we'll walk for the rest of the way....but we'll walk _quietly._" She finished her sentence while glaring at the sheepish James.

Carefully, the Rocket trio climbed down from the treetops. They started tiptoeing in the direction of Ash's camp. James turned around and noticed the large hole he had ripped in the canopy. It allowed some of the strong light coming from the full moon to flood that area of the forest.....

****

Ash snuck away from the safety of camp to investigate the noise he had heard. He knew that if any of the others woke up, they would forbid him from going any further. So he was very careful when leaving. Misty's words briefly came back to him, he remembered what she had said about him being careful. Again, he felt guilty for not listening to her, but decided that he was going out to make sure that there was no danger that could harm them, so he was in a sense protecting her. She should be grateful, not mad. Flashlight out in front of him, Ash crept toward the source of the noise he'd heard. As he walked, Ash soon noticed that the surrounding area was more lit than the rest of the forest. He noticed a gaping hole in the treetops, and saw that the large full moon was lighting the area. _Hmm..._he thought. _I wonder what made that hole....at least I have the moonlight now...._ Suddenly, pain started bursting from Ash's wound. It was even more unbearable than before...he dropped his flashlight and fell to his knees, holding his arm tight with his other hand, eyes wide and teeth grinding. Sweat started pouring from his brow again, his breathing became heavy and ragged. Panting, he tried to stand. The pain from his arm shot through his entire body as he realized that his body was starting to reform itself. Horror filled Ash as he felt his face changing and reforming...his nose and mouth growing outward....clothes tearing as his body grew too big for them....fine black hair sprouting everywhere.....teeth growing longer, sharper....arms jerking wildly as they too grew and reformed....feet bursting out of his shoes....he felt two large, sharp objects growing from his head....all of this filled his body with immense pain too horrible to imagine. _Oh god...what the hell is happening to me.... _Ash clutched his head and cried out in agonizing pain. "AAAARRRGHHRRRR...." His anguished cry started off sounding human, but ended in a much more horrible, animal sound....

****

James gulped loudly as he heard a horrible, almost indescribable sound come from somewhere in the woods. 

"J-Jesse...d-did you hear t-that?" He asked his partner, trembling. Meowth also cowered behind Jesse's leg.

"Whateva dat was, it didn't sound very friendly..."

"Oh honestly, the two of you are s-such cowards....you don't see me c-cringing at every little s-sound..." Jesse said, trying to sound brave. "Now come on, we're almost there." The three reluctantly trudged on, stopping now and then at every noise. Right before the camp was in sight, James froze. A frightening, menacing growl was coming from only a few feet behind him. 

"Jesse...d-do you hear what I hear?" Jesse was shaking.

"It's...right behind us...." She said.

"J-j-just toin around and point da flashlight at whateva dat is!" Meowth begged. "Before it eats us for dinna!"

Carefully, slowly, Team Rocket turned around. They were met with two malevolent, glowing red eyes, staring right at them. The color left all of their faces, and the snarl directed toward them became more vicious. 

"Hurry James, shine the light at it!" Jesse managed to get out. Shaking, James lifted his flashlight so that the creature was visible....

"RAAAGGHH!" The monster bellowed at them as soon as it was hit. It made a lunge for the trio, who all darted out of the way. They quickly began running.

"James..." Jesse shouted. "What is that thing?"

"I don't know Jesse!" He answered in a panicked voice.

"It looked like a houndoom!" Meowth yelled to them. "Only bigga, much bigga!" The short glimpse they had caught of the creature showed that it resembled an extremely large houndoom....only its paws more resembled hands...and it had pieces of ripped clothing on its body...and its eyes...that blood red color... But none of the trio really thought about that as they ran for their lives, knowing it was in hot pursuit. Meowth called to them.

"Jesse! James! It's gettin' closa! We can't keep runnin'!"

"I know Meowth, we- Oof!" Jesse tripped over a root sticking out of the ground. She could hear the thundering sound of the monster as it tore in her direction.

"Jesse!" James shouted as he rushed to her side, helping her up. In seconds the beast had caught up with them. It stopped for a moment, then dove at them. James grabbed his flashlight and tried to defend himself and the other two with it. The monster simply opened it's jaws and crunched the flashlight to bits, biting down on James's hand as well. James cried out as Jesse pulled out Arbok's poke ball. 

"Arbok, go! Bite attack now!" Arbok appeared from his ball and clamped his jaws down on the creatures' arm. It released James's hand from its grip and Jesse recalled Arbok before it could attack him. Staggering in pain, James used his unbitten hand to pull a ball from his belt. 

"Weezing, smokescreen!" Weezing immediately complied and used his smokescreen to cloud the monster's vision. While the beast was coughing and shaking its head violently, Jesse, James and Meowth all took off as fast as they could, never wanting to go near those woods again as long as they lived.

****

__

Red...anger...was all he could see. It filled his body with an uncontrollable rage...and a desire to kill. Blood...he needed blood....needed to see it spray from a victim's gaping wound....he needed to smell it, to taste blood, to feel his fangs sinking into the soft flesh of another being....his claws ripping them apart....he needed blood...he needed meat...he needed prey...he needed to kill. Red...anger...telling him what to do. Telling him to kill...to give him release. Nose to the air, sniffing. The last prey escaped....but there is more in the other direction....more humans. But wait....a stronger scent...coming from....outside of the woods. Yes....dozens...maybe hundreds...their blood would soon be his....

****

On the outskirts of the Black Forest, there was a large, open field. Some farmer had found it many years ago and taken advantage of the space. It was now a perfect pasture for his flock of Mareep. The night was cool and calm, and the sheep pokemon were all sleeping peacefully. The moonlight kept the field well lit. An occasional snore was the only thing that disturbed the silence. None of them noticed the pair of gleaming red eyes watching them intently, or the fangs that prepared themselves to sink into their throats. None of them knew that their peaceful field would soon be covered with blood.....

****

Misty woke the next morning, the small amount of sunlight creeping into her eyes. She yawned, and noticed that she had been covered by her sleeping bag. She sighed. She should've known that he would do something like that. She looked over to his sleeping bag, expecting to see him asleep.....but he was gone. Panic filled Misty's mind.

"Ash? Ash! Where are you? Ash!" She called. Pikachu woke up and also noticed his missing trainer.

"Pikapi! Pikapi!" He called desperately.

"Pikachu, what happened to Ash?" Misty asked. Pikachu shook his head.

"Pi, pikachu." He answered.

"Well we've got to find him. Can't you find his scent or something Pikachu?" 

"Pika." Pikachu started sniffing the ground, searching for his trainer's scent. It only took him a couple of seconds to pick up Pikapi's familiar odor. "Chu!" Pikachu yelled as he took off after Ash's trail, Misty not far behind. While they ran off, Brock and Togepi still slept peacefully....

****

Ash woke up to find himself outside of the forest. He was right on the outskirts of it. _Ugghh...what the hell hit me? Oh god, my head...it feels like it's going to split... Wait...where am I? This isn't camp...I'm not even in the forest. _He looked down at himself. _Wha! What happened to my clothes? They're all ripped up! And my shoes are gone...what the hell happened to me? Where is everyone? _As if on cue, Ash heard Misty and Pikachu's voices calling his name. He immediately answered.

"Misty! Pikachu! I'm over here you guys, can you hear me?"

Pikachu's ears twitched. He heard Pikapi's voice. His trail had led them nearly to the edge of the forest, and it sounded like his voice was coming from just outside of it. 

"Pikachupi! Pikapi, pikachu!" He called to Misty.

"You can hear Ash?" She said. Pikachu nodded. Both of them ran for where Ash's voice was coming from, the now unfamiliar sunlight stinging their eyes.

When Misty and Pikachu reached Ash, they were shocked with what they saw. He was lying on the ground, cuts, scratches, and bloodstains on his face. His shirt and jacket were barely clinging on to him, as they had been torn to shreds. His pants were filled with holes and tears. His usually wild hair was even more so, going in all directions and filled with pine needles and dirt. There were scratches and cuts on his arms and the rest of his body as well. Misty gasped.

"Oh my god, Ash! What happened to you?!" She ran over to him and helped him to his feet, holding him up. Misty looked him over again, horrified at his condition. "Look at you, you're covered in blood! And your clothes are destroyed! Ash, tell me what happened!" She demanded. Ash groaned.

"I...I don't know what happened...I remember falling asleep on my sleeping bag...and the next thing I know I wake up here..." That didn't really satisfy Misty.

"How could you not know what happened to you Ash? Especially when you look the way you do now! I'm dead serious Ash, tell me who did this to you now!"

"I don't know Misty...I don't even know if someone did this to me or not..."

"Damn it, stop being so cryptic Ash! How could no one have done this to you?" She asked, almost sounding frantic.

"I'm telling you, I don't remember what happened! It's like there's a big chunk of my memory missing or something...." Misty noticed that Ash's voice was trailing off. He seemed very tired. She sighed. 

"Alright, I'll stop asking, for now. Let's get you back to camp where it's safe....sort of." She lifted Ash's arm over her shoulders and helped him to walk back to the campsite. Ash looked over to Pikachu while they were walking and smiled weakly.

"Hey Pikachu, glad you're safe..." He said.

"Pi." Pikachu said cheerfully. As Ash turned his head back to the path in front of him, Pikachu eyed him suspiciously. When he had picked up Pikapi's scent, it was normal. But when they reached one area of the trail, it had changed to a different scent. It still smelled of Pikapi, but there was something wrong with it...it almost smelled evil...if that was possible. But now Pikapi's scent was normal again, and Pikachu wondered what had happened.

****

Once camp was reached, Ash Misty and Pikachu all had to go through an interrogation from Brock. He got the same answers from Ash that Misty did, and both of them were left confused. Ash was bandaged again, given new clothes, and cleaned up. Misty was very concerned about him, seemingly more than the other two. She was constantly checking on him, asking him if he was alright. Ash honestly didn't mind the attention, and willingly rested his head on her lap after he was done getting cleaned up.

"So Ash," Brock began. "Are we going to stay another night?" Ash glared at him.

"No way...we've stayed here too long as it is. I wanted to get through here fast, and it's taking longer than ever because I keep gettin' hurt. Well now I'm just gonna keep going, injury or not, because I've gotta get to the next gym."

"But Ash, you're really hurt." Brock protested.

"I know I am, but-"  
"Brock, I think Ash is right." Misty interrupted. Brock was shocked. Did Misty just agree with Ash? "Every night we've stayed here, something horrible has happened to Ash. I think it's best that we just get out of here as soon as possible and find the nearest motel." She finished. Brock thought for a moment. She did have a good point.

"Alright, let's pack up." He finally said. He started putting some of his things away. Misty was about to get up, when Ash stopped her by holding her arm. 

"Just let me rest here a little longer, will ya? It's kinda comfy..." He said, his face a faint shade of red. Misty smiled.

"Okay, but just for a couple of minutes, then we have to go."

"I know." He answered, leaning his head more on her lap and closing his eyes like he had before.

****

After everything was packed, the group started out again. Pikachu decided to walk on the ground again rather than add his weight to Pikapi's shoulder. Togepi was still tucked away in Misty's bag. It was a great relief for all of them when the edge of the forest was finally spotted. The group quickly walked to it, welcoming the light of the sun to their eyes.

"Well, we finally made it out." Ash said. "Now all we've got to do is find our way to the next city and the next gym."

"Hey, look over there." Brock said, pointing to a farmhouse. "I bet that whoever lives there could give us some directions."

"You're probably right Brock. Come on guys, let's go." Ash concluded as he walked toward it, companions following. When they reached the house, Ash walked up and rang the doorbell. An old woman came to the door. She had a rather solemn expression on her face.

"Hello children....how can I help you?" She asked.

"We were just wondering if you knew the way to the next city with a Johto league gym, ma'am." Ash said.

"Well, I don't know for sure, dear...but my husband does. You could speak to him, only...."

"What's the matter ma'am?" Misty asked.

"Well...last night, something horrible happened in our mareep pasture. He says a wild pokemon must've gotten in there, but it looks to me like a demon was in there tearing things apart. He's very upset about it. If you'd like to talk to him, he's out in the pasture. I suggest that if you have a weak stomach, you'd best not go out there."

"Don't worry about it. Misty here tells me that I have a steel pit for a stomach, and those must be strong." Ash said. Misty rolled her eyes.

"Very well..." The lady lead Ash and co. into her house and out to the back where the pasture was.

"Ash, what do you think could've happened in the pasture that would be so terrible?" Misty whispered.

"I don't know Mist, but it looks like we're gonna find out soon." He answered. The woman opened the door, revealing the field.....and everyone gasped.

The entire pasture was spewed with the bodies of dead mareep, many of them torn to bloody shreds. Several others had gaping holes in their throats, and some were mostly gone...eaten. Their bright yellow wool was stained deep red. Blood covered the grass of the field, turning the once lush green grass into a brownish red graveyard. There was not one living mareep out on the field. Indeed, it looked like a demon had been through there. 

Misty covered her mouth, tears coming to her eyes as she looked at the massive field of dead pokemon lying before her. Brock looked away from the horrible scene of slaughter. Ash just stared, eyes wide...as memory came flooding back to him....

__

There they are, running, panicking...screaming with fear. Trying to escape an inevitable death. Slash! One falls dead. Crunch! Another. And another, and another....his fangs sink deep into their throats, tearing out their intestines, devouring their flesh.....the warm taste of blood floods into his mouth, invigorating his senses, as the smell of death fills the field. One more dead, another, and another....claws tearing them apart, jaws crunching their skulls open...one minute, a bleating sheep, the next a pile of blood-stained wool. He revels in the act of his killing....not stopping until every single one is a bloody heap on the ground. Seeing his work finished, he lifts his head to the sky and lets out a terrifying, demonic howl......

"AAAARRRRGGHHH!" Ash again clutched his head as the terrible memories invaded his mind. He could see it all before him....this was his work.....everything was getting darker....Ash shut his eyes....and blacked out.

To be continued...

Holy shit I have a train to catch...you people better be grateful!! Bye!


	3. The Last Night

This is rated R for violence, blood, cursing, and slight sexual references. Got it? Good.

Here is chapter three. It's a pretty long one. Keep in mind that there will be death. I hope you all find it scary enough, yet touching too. I worked hard! Also, I have no intention of misrepresenting wolves by writing a werewolf story. I love wolves, they're my favorite animal! I tried my best to make this something you all would like. I hope you enjoy it.

Bitten Under the Moon: the Last Night

No...they're all dead...and I killed them...I killed a pokemon. Not just one, but dozens. I'm a monster! How can I possibly live with myself....all those mareep....oh god....what happened to me? 

Now I see more...dead....people? Who are they...did I do this? Look closer....there are two...on the ground, dead. One girl, one boy. The boy is...oh please no...Brock...and that would mean that the girl is....god, please don't let it be her, anyone but her....Misty...please don't say that I've done this to you....NO! Look at me! I'm sorry! It's all my fault..... I'm nothing more than a beast...a hideous, bloodthirsty, red-eyed beast......

****

Ash's eyes slowly fluttered open. He looked around him...the field of slaughter that he last remembered seeing was gone....he could see a dim light filling the small space he was in. A room....he was in a room. He looked up and saw a figure leaning over him. Slowly, Ash's vision came into focus. Misty was looking down on him, a concerned look on her pretty face.

"Unnngh....where am I?" Ash asked groggily. He slowly sat up and looked around again. He had been lying on a bed with semi-colorful sheets...the walls were covered with cheap wallpaper....there were a few dim lights on the walls, and a TV on the desk in front of him. 

"You're in a motel room Ash." Misty answered. "Brock and I brought you here after you passed out....it must've hit you pretty hard, seeing all of that." Ash didn't answer. He just stared ahead blankly, not moving. There was a look of fear and worry plastered on his face. "Ash? Ash are you ok?"

Ash shook his head and turned to her. "Misty what time is it, tell me now!" Misty looked at him strangely, then over to the clock. 

"It's about 4:30...why do you want to know so badly?" Ash's face looked very solemn and grim.

"Misty...when the clock hits six o'clock I'm going to leave....and I don't want you following me."

Misty looked confused. "What?"

"You heard me. I don't want Brock, or Pikachu, or especially you to follow me when I leave tonight."

"Ash, you're making no sense. Why do you want to go off on your own and leave us all behind?"  
"I'm sorry Misty...I just can't explain it to you."

"You'll be coming back, right?"

"I don't think so."

Misty was more than confused, now she was getting hurt and angry. 

"So all of a sudden you just want to leave all of us behind and never see us again? Not only that, but you have no reason for it either...am I right Ash?" Ash sighed dejectedly.

"Yes."

"Well that makes no sense!" She fumed. "First of all, I see no reason for you to just get up and leave us. I was upset by seeing those dead pokemon too, but you don't see me running away! And secondly, why not take Pikachu? He's your pokemon, your best friend! You need him with you!"

"I'm not running away! And I have my reasons for not taking Pikachu, but that doesn't mean that I have to tell you them!"  
"So does that mean you're going to tell him?" Ash paused. She had a point. He hadn't thought about confronting Pikachu about this, since the mouse was down in the cafeteria getting dinner for Togepi. He couldn't just tell Pikachu that he was leaving to go off without him and expect the little pokemon to listen. Pikachu would be just as stubborn as Misty was being.

"No, I'm not. I guess I just won't tell him I'm leaving." 

"Ash, have you gone crazy?! You can't abandon your journey like this, you can't abandon us like this!" Ash looked at her, not speaking. _Abandon?_ Misty's face was starting to go from angry to desperate. It almost looked like she would start crying. "Ash...please don't go....for whatever reason you want to...please don't....." She snapped out of it and made a serious face again. "And if you do, I will follow you...because I'm not going to let you be alone." Ash could see that there was no way he was going to persuade her to stay....he had only one choice left, and he hated to do it. He would have to lie to her. 

"Misty, you're right...I don't know what got into me. I guess I was just upset about what happened...I don't know what I was thinking, Mist."

"So you're not leaving?"

"No...I guess I went a little overboard there. I'm staying here." Misty smiled and let out a big sigh of relief. Ash looked at her and gently smiled back. _Wow...she really cares about me.....and that's why I have to get away from her. Who knows what I'll do to her if I turn into that monster again? That dream...it could come true. Misty, I wish you could understand...I'm only doing this so that I won't hurt you...._

Ash's thoughts suddenly became very sad as he realized that this could be his last hour and a half with her. He wished that he could spend time with Pikachu...but he knew that his pika-pal would sense something wrong. At least he could have this time with Misty.

Reaching his arm out, he put it around her waist and pulled her into a loving hug. He wrapped his second arm around her and held her close, as a surprised Misty just stared into space. Soon, she came to her senses and returned his hug. Arms still around her, Ash lied down on his bed and snuggled close to her. He knew that this was something he would never normally do, but these circumstances were different. Misty was shocked by his actions. She had no idea what to think...maybe he just needed some comfort. Either way, there was no way she was going to fight it. She sighed and rested her head against his chest. Carefully, Ash leaned his head down and gently kissed her cheek, something he'd always wanted to do. Misty went into a full blush and tightened her embrace on him. She leaned her head upward and planted her own kiss on his cheek, hoping he'd take both of them as a sign of friendship, though that was not their true intention. Ash had the same reaction as Misty did. Both looked at each other and smiled, then laughed a little. Then Ash shut his eyes and snuggled Misty closer in his arms. Misty again nestled her head against his chest and closed her eyes as well.

****

Brock finally emerged from the bathroom, steam billowing out as he stepped back into the motel room.

"Ah, that was a nice shower. Hey, do one of you guys want to...." Brock stopped in mid-sentence as he spotted Ash and Misty asleep in each other's arms. Speechless, he gaped at them for a while. _Hm...wonder what went on here? Damn it, I always miss the real juicy stuff...._

Later that evening, Pikachu and Togepi returned, both very full. Pikachu had been very worried for Pikapi....but when he came back and saw him sleeping happily with Pikachupi, he knew that his trainer must've gotten up and was now very happy. He made his own little bed out of a ripped up motel pillow and fell asleep.

Since no one had the heart to wake Ash or Misty, they remained asleep together until around 8:00, when Ash woke up. He was starting to feel sweaty. _Hmm...what time is it...Oh my god! I've got to get out of here! _The moon was starting to appear over the treetops. Ash could feel the pain in his arm beginning to grow...he knew that he would change again in a matter of minutes. Hurriedly, he broke his happy embrace with Misty and tore for the door of the room. Ash was making sure he used all of his energy to get out of the motel, before the transformation stopped him dead in his tracks. He flung the door open and darted down the hallway, ignoring the protests of people he nearly collided with. All the while his body was filling with pain again. He could feel the fur starting to grow from his skin, his muscles were pulsing, growing...his breathing was becoming a pant, and he could feel the two houndoom horns pushing their way out of his skull.

Bursting through the motel doors, Ash started running toward a nearby grove of trees. As his transformation progressed, his run became a walk...and then a stagger...he had just reached the trees when he couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground, crying in pain as the terrible transformation completed......

****

Misty had awoken mere seconds after Ash had pulled away from her, missing the warmth of his body. She steadily pushed herself up, hearing the door slam as she did. A horrible realization came upon her as she noticed that Ash was gone. He really was leaving...and she said she would follow....

Misty ran through the hallway, following a trail of confused people, guessing that Ash was the cause. She came to the motel exit, and walked outside, fearing she'd lost track of him. Looking around, Misty saw drops of sweat and heavy footprints on the ground. They were leading to a grove of trees. Desperately, she followed them hoping to find Ash....

****

__

Red...anger...it was back again...Kill...must kill.....must smell blood, taste it...wait for a scent...there was life all around him, life that he would take. The boiling pit of anger overflowing, needing to take his rage out on something, someone....Wait...somebody is approaching....

****

Misty carefully came to the grove of trees. She could hear something breathing in there....it didn't sound like Ash. But she was sure he'd come this way. What if some other creature was in there with Ash? She had to look.... Stepping into the grove, Misty looked around. It was very dark inside.   
"Ash?" She whispered his name into the darkness. "Ash, are you there?" Misty walked further into the trees. She only took a few steps before she froze in her tracks, feeling something's hot breath against the back of her neck. Slowly, carefully, Misty turned around to see what was behind her. She gasped as her eyes met with two gleaming red eyes. A growl came from their direction. Misty started backing away from them, trembling. She backed into a slightly lit area of the grove, and the strange creature followed. She watched as a huge black paw-like foot stepped out into the moonlight. It was followed by another, both having a silver cuff at the ankle, and then two very strong and powerful looking black-furred legs, a pair of ripped jeans clinging to the waist. A long, devil-tipped tail whipped back and forth behind the creature, and his muscular black and tan chest came into view. The sleeve of a black shirt and blue vest were also hanging on to his torso, and he had another pair of silver cuffs on the wrists of both of his powerful furry arms. His front paws were more like hands, each finger ending in a razor sharp claw. Around his neck there was something that resembled a silver necklace, only it looked like it was partially embedded into his skin. In the center of the necklace was a silver emblem of a skull. Leading up from his broad shoulders and neck was his head, from which two pointed horns sprouted. Both of them curved backwards. But there was something different about his face....it almost looked human...but his mouth still formed a slight snout, and his mouth contained sharp fangs. Unlike other houndoom, he had wild spiky black hair on the top of his head. And his eyes...they were glowing red. 

Misty was cowering. She was too frightened to move. What on earth was that? What happened to Ash? Why did it look familiar....

Suddenly, the houndoom creature dropped to four legs and approached Misty, who still remained frozen. His tail was swishing excitedly as he came inches in front of her. He dropped his nose to her feet and began rapidly sniffing, taking in her scent. His nose followed a trail up her body, not missing a single area. Finally, he reached her face, still sniffing, only slower now. Misty looked into his eyes with her own wide ones, watching in shock as the red in them faded slightly...and revealed a deep golden brown. Misty knew those eyes. She recognized the bits of clothing. She remembered how she had found Ash earlier that morning...clothes torn like they were now...Misty finally managed to say something. 

"A-Ash?"

His tail wagged again, and the red faded completely from his eyes at the mention of his name. Shock, disbelief, horror....all these emotions filled her at once as she realized that this monster was the boy she loved. It was too much for her to handle. Misty gasped again...and passed out right in front of him.

****

__

What...is this? He could not kill this human...but why? It was a female, so of course he would have reserves. His kind was always like that...but somehow his anger had faded. Before, it seemed so great that he would've torn this female to bits in seconds, regardless of what she was. But now it was gone...and she was lying there. She looked so beautiful to him...so attractive. Why did he feel this closeness to her? It felt as if he were bonded to this female somehow...perhaps she was his mate? He could not remember. Either way, he did not want her dead. He looked over her body again... and thought of the puppies they could make. Strange, primal urges filled him.... But now was not the time. He had other duties to fulfill. His killing lust would soon return, and he knew that she would be harmed if it did. He must take this female somewhere safe, so that she won't be a victim of his actions. Also so that no other male could find her and take her as a mate.

Carefully, Ash picked Misty up with his enormous hands. He carried her in a cradling position over to a small hollow tree. He placed her up in the hollow area. She would be safe there for now. Ash then ran as fast as he could away from the tree grove, the red glow returning to his eyes.....

****

"Pika pikaaa! Pika pika!!" Pikachu was tugging hard on Brock's cheek in a desperate attempt to wake him. He had noticed that Pikapi and Pikachupi had gone and was unable to follow them. Brock was the only one able to open the door. He tugged harder and harder. "Pika pika!! Pika_chuuuuu!!_" Pikachu had finally had it and let Brock have it with a thundershock. 

"Yeaaaaaaaah!" Brock screamed as the jolt woke him up. "Ugh....Pikachu what's wrong? What did you do that for?" He demanded. Pikachu pointed to the bed where Ash and Misty had been sleeping. "Oh no! They're gone!" Brock saw that they were no where in the room. "Holy shit...where could they have gone Pikachu? What are they doing?" 

"Pi pika!" Pikachu hopped off of Brock's bed and over to the door. Brock threw on some clothes, sent out Geodude to watch Togepi, and opened the door. Pikachu bolted out as soon as the door was opened, and Brock followed in hot pursuit. 

Eventually, the trail of Ash's scent led Brock and Pikachu to the grove of trees. Pikachu was about to enter when he caught Pikapi's scent leaving the trees. It had that evil smell to it again. The mouse turned to Brock. "Pika pika, pi pikachu...Pikapi chu pika. Ka Pikachupi pikachu." Brock thought for a moment.

"You're saying that Ash's trail leads away from here, but you think that Misty's in there?" Pikachu nodded. "Alright Pikachu, we've got to split up then." Brock released Vulpix from her poke ball. "Vulpix and I will follow Ash's trail. If anything's happened to him, I think that I'd stand a better chance against it. I do have four pokemon with me. You go in there and see if Misty is alright, and we'll meet up around here later. Got it?"

"Pi."  
"Okay then. Come on Vulpix, get Ash's scent and follow it!"

"Vul!" Vulpix cried as she caught the scent and took off in it's direction, Brock following.

Pikachu ventured into the grove, sniffing around for Pikachupi's scent. He could smell both her and Pikapi here, and he knew that they had been here together. But since Pikapi's scent still had that evil aroma, Pikachu worried for Pikachupi's safety. He continued to sniff around until he found an area where her scent was strong. It was around a hollow tree. Quickly, Pikachu climbed the tree until he came to the hole in it. There he found Pikachupi, eyes closed as if she were asleep. He tapped her face repeatedly, saying her name until she finally woke up.

"Ooh...what happened...Ash? Where's Ash? Pikachu! You found me!" Misty scooped up the little pokemon and hugged him. Pikachu licked her cheek and she set him down again. They both climbed down from the tree. "Pikachu, something terrible has happened to Ash..." She said.

"Pi pika."

"He's become...some sort of monster...he looks like a houndoom. It was like he didn't even recognize me Pikachu...and his eyes, they were red and evil looking. I'm scared Pikachu, I don't think he can control himself. What is he going to do? What if he hurts someone, or someone hurts him?"

"Pi pika. Chu pika, pikachu. Pi, pika. Kachu."

"An old pokemon legend? About a curse?"

"Pi."

"Do you know anything else about it?" She asked him. Pikachu shook his head.

"Chu." He answered sadly.

"Well come on Pikachu...we've got to find him before something awful happens." Pikachu and Misty ran off to stop Ash.

****

Vulpix finally stopped in front of a pokemon center. The center was very secluded, having no buildings surrounding it. It was one of the pokemon centers that was mainly used for travelers looking to revive their pokemon on the road. Ash's scent had lead them to that center, and he was most likely inside. Brock and Vulpix walked around to the door...and saw that it had been smashed open. It looked as if something had torn the wooden door to shreds, bashing it until the hole in the door was big enough for an extremely large body to fit through. Vulpix stuck her head inside the hole and sniffed around. She pulled back out, the hairs on her back bristling. A small vulpix growl came from her throat. (a/n: I know that baka brock gave Vulpix away...I wasn't expecting him to do it for a while. I still think that I need her in this part so I'm letting him keep her...for whenever this takes place.) Brock thought to himself. _There must be something really awful in there....but I've got to see if Ash is alright._ He turned to his pokemon.

"Come on Vulpix, we're going in."

****

Misty and Pikachu were running at top speed in Ash's direction. Pikachu was hot on his trail once again and they were moving quickly. Misty was breathing hard, thinking of nothing but Ash... _Poor Ash....what had happened to him? How could such a caring, gentle boy become such a hideous monster? Was he the one who killed all those mareep? Would Ash ever kill a pokemon? Would he kill a person? I have to save him...there must be a way... _

Misty was so lost in her thoughts and concentrating on running that she didn't notice when she collided with someone else. Actually, the person was so short that she nearly tripped over them. Both people fell to the ground, Misty hitting hard.

"Pikachupi!" Pikachu stopped running and dashed over to Misty. "Pikachu?"

"Yeah, I'm alright Pikachu..."

"Argh...why don't you young people ever watch where you're going?" Misty got to her feet and immediately recognized the old woman who had warned them about the forest on Halloween. "Honestly, the nerve of people...no respect for their elders." Misty walked over and helped the woman up.

"You're the lady from before!" She exclaimed to her.  
"Eh? What are you talking about, missy?" The lady asked.

"My friends and I...we met you before. Oh god, you were right. Ash...something terrible happened to Ash in the forest.." 

"What? You mean that stubborn little boy who insisted on traveling through those hellish woods on All Hallows Eve?"

"Yes...something awful happened to him...please miss, you've got to help him! You seem to know a lot about the woods and what happens in there."

"Tell me exactly what his problem is." The woman replied.

"Last night he disappeared...and I found him far away, covered in blood with his clothes all torn...and he didn't remember how that happened. Then tonight, he was acting strange...talking about getting away from all of us...I fell asleep and he was gone. I followed him outside, but when I found him, he wasn't....he wasn't human anymore!" Misty was starting to shake with tears.

"Please child, calm down. You must tell me what he had become."

"He...he was a monster...like a pokemon, only he could stand on two legs...I could see that some of his clothes were still on his body...it was like a huge pokemon that was mixed with a human...barely human. But I could tell it was him. He had these huge horns and black fur, just like the houndoom he saw earlier...."

"Did you say houndoom?" The woman asked, sounding alarmed.

"Yes...that's what he looked like." Misty answered.

"Tell me, did the boy have any encounter with a houndoom while in the Black Forest?" She questioned further.

"Yes, he did. I wasn't there, but he and his pikachu had gone walking...one of his pokemon came back later and told us to follow her...we did, and we found him lying on the ground, with a giant bite on his arm. Later he told us that he ran into a wild houndoom. It had attacked and bitten him before Pikachu scared it away."

"Was there anything different about the houndoom he encountered?"

"There was one thing...he said it had red eyes...."

"Oh my, this is terrible. That boy has had a curse put on him, one of the worst I could've imagined. You must come with me quickly child." The old woman started running. Misty and Pikachu looked at each other. Should they go? No words were needed to make the decision. If she knew a way to help Ash, then they had to go. Both nodded simultaneously and took off after the old lady.

****

There was nothing but total darkness inside the pokemon center....which was unusual. Centers out on the road usually stay open 24 hours a day. This one was pitch black, and deathly silent. Brock and his pokemon stepped further inside. Suddenly Vulpix curled up her nose and snorted, shaking her head. Brock sniffed the air as well, filling his nostrils with a horrible stench. He put his hand over his nose and proceeded. Vulpix tugged on his pant leg. He turned around and looked at her.

"Vul.." She said while shaking her head. It was as if she was telling him not to go in there.

"I'm sorry Vulpix, but Ash could be in there. We've got to help him...who knows what could happen to him in here?" Vulpix knew that she wouldn't be able to persuade Brock to leave his friend behind here. And what kind of a pokemon would she be if she let her trainer go in there alone? Reluctantly, the little fox pokemon followed Brock into the darkness. Her fur was on end, ears flattened and her tails sticking straight out. Vulpix knew what that terrible smell was....it was the smell of death.

****

Misty and Pikachu followed the old woman for what seemed like miles. Finally, she stopped upon reaching a cabin. Standing by the door, she waited patiently for the young girl and pokemon to catch up with her. 

"This is my cabin." She said to them. "Come inside and I'll explain what has happened." Reaching for the knob, she turned it and creaked the door open. The woman stepped inside and motioned for Misty and Pikachu to follow. Slowly, the two entered the cabin. 

Inside it was dark, and smelled of must and rotting wood. The old lady pulled out a match and lit a candle, then placed it on a table. Misty and Pikachu looked around them. They saw many dusty shelves, filled with old books and bottles. The bottles contained many strange looking liquids, powders, and other objects. There were labels on each of them, but they were so old that the paper had browned and the letters had faded. Beside the candle on the table there was another book, left open. It's pages were yellow and tearing. It was obviously very old. There was also a stone bowl with a stone stick-like object in it, used for grinding ingredients into powder. Across the dimly lit cabin there was a small bed, which looked like it could've been infested with many bugs... Next to the bed was a small, scraggly looking tree. It had no leaves, just one branch sticking out over the bed. Perched on top of the limb was a Murkrow. The woman called for the Murkrow and it flew over to her, landing on her shoulder. She then sat down at the table and pulled out a chair for Misty to sit in as well. Misty sat, Pikachu jumping up onto her lap.

"You must listen to me carefully child." The woman began. "The boy that you are concerned about was bitten by a cursed houndoom." She turned a page of the rotting book on the table, revealing an ancient looking drawing of Entei, Raikou, and Suicune, all locked in battle with a group of other pokemon. "Many years ago, several pokemon rebelled against the legendary dog pokemon of Ecruteak city. Their leader was a supernaturally powerful houndoom who went by the name of Akuma. Akuma gathered many pokemon from across the land of Johto, in hopes that the legendary dogs would be overthrown and he and his rebels would take their place as Poke-gods." The woman turned the page again, showing a drawing of all three legendary dogs firing attacks at a red-eyed houndoom, sending him into a pit of darkness. "But the gods overpowered Akuma and his army, then focused their powers on attacking Akuma himself. They cast a horrible curse on him, making it so that one night a year he would lose control of himself and destroy all that has become dear to him. They then cast him out into the Black Forest. His curse would be passed on to all of his children, and all those who he and his children infected. The one night they chose was All Hallows Eve. On that night, the descendants of Akuma become demons, attacking several humans and pokemon that they come across. Any who escape will have the curse of the Were-houndoom passed to them. The Were-houndoom is a terrible demonic creature, half human, half pokemon." She turned the page again, revealing an illustration of a Were-houndoom. It looked almost exactly like Ash had. "It has the combined strength of both species, plus the supernatural power of Akuma gives it strength as well. All of this strength is then given a desire to kill, so strong that it overpowers the desire to live. The light of the full moon causes an infected human to transform into this beast. It will rampage through any area it is in, killing anything in sight. Even when everything around it is dead the Were-houndoom's lust for blood won't be satisfied. Once its night of killing is over the beast will return to human form. In the beginning phases the human may not remember of his actions the night before. But any jolt to the brain can bring the memory back. You must not go near him when transformed unless you have a death wish."

"But miss, I did go near him before and he didn't try to kill me. I was even unconscious for part of the time." Misty said.

"Eh? Not even a scratch on you?" The woman asked.

"No...he was sniffing me over...when I realized it was him I must've fainted...then he put me up in tree and ran away."

"Hmm...." The old woman was thinking. "In his human form that boy must have extremely powerful feelings for you....they were able to overpower the killing instinct. Tell me, what is your relationship with him?"

"We're friends...I guess we're a little close, but just friends." Misty answered.

"I'm not sure....for feelings to be so strong....the boy must love you very much." The old woman said. Misty blushed. 

"Love me?" She said in disbelief. 

"This makes things different....maybe you will be able to give him the cure."

"Pika?"

"A cure?!"

****

Brock continued walking down the dark halls of the pokemon center. He could see almost nothing, there was no sound around him. The only thing he could follow was the terrible smell coming from further inside. Brocks steps were slow and careful....he was constantly turning his head to see if he was being followed. His steps didn't stop until he felt his foot bump into something....something soft....almost like another person. 

"Shit, I can't see anything in here...." Brock said. He reached for a small beam sticking out of the wall. He pulled hard on the beam until it came off the wall. 

"Vulpix, light this piece of wood so that we can see." He ordered. Vulpix complied and shot a flame at the wood. Once lit, the beam acted as a torch. Brock pointed it toward what his foot had felt and saw......

"Oh my god!" Brock cried as he saw the body lying on the ground. It was a young man, most likely a trainer. He was sprawled out on the ground....and there was a gaping hole in his stomach. Blood was still pouring from it, showing that he had been recently killed. There were bloody slashes across his face, as well as his chest. Brock looked at the trainer's arm and noticed that his hand was gone. Feeling sick to his stomach, Brock's first reaction was to turn around and leave.....but he remembered Ash. He'd said that he was going to find him, and that's what he would still do. Swallowing hard, Brock stepped over the dead boy and walked deeper into the center.

Further down the hall, Brock was met with more horror. Bodies of trainers were strewn across the hall, all of them ripped to shreds and some partially eaten, as the mareep had been. A partially relieving thing to Brock was that none of the bodies were Ash's. It took all of the strength Brock had to walk into the pokemon storage room.....

Thankfully, no pokemon in the room had been killed, as they were all in their poke balls. Over in a corner, Brock noticed that there was a bag filled with poke balls, much like the ones Team Rocket used when stealing. Before he could go over and check it out, Brock heard a small noise come from behind the poke ball transfer machine. Carefully, he and Vulpix walked toward the noise....

Brock gasped. It was Nurse Joy.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Joy said quietly. "Someone here is still alive...you have to get out of here quickly!" The chansey that was hiding behind her trembled.

"Joy, tell me what happened here!" Brock said.

"It was awful.....I was checking on the pokemon in their balls when these two Team Rocket members came in...they held me up with a gun and demanded all of the poke balls in the room. I started doing what they said when we heard banging at the door...like it was being smashed open. Then, all of the lights went out....I could hear people screaming...and someone...something was roaring and snarling...It was a monster, a horrible monster. It killed everyone.....Then it came in here. Chansey and I hid in the closet. I knew that the door was made of steel and the lock was very strong, so nothing would be able to get in. While I was in there I heard the monster come in....and I heard the Team Rocket members screaming as it killed them....it killed all of them...." Joy began sobbing, and Brock held her. 

"Joy, tell me what you mean about a monster....was it a pokemon?"

"No, not a pokemon....a pokemon wouldn't do this....We have to get out of here now, while we still can! Chansey and I have been too afraid to leave, we know it's still out there. If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

"Alright Joy, follow me." Brock said. The two and their pokemon ran out of the room, passing the mangled bodies of Butch and Cassidy.......

Brock and Joy had moved quickly through the hall, walking over the bodies of the dead trainers. Brock hadn't seen Ash here, so he was guessing that he may have made it out safely.

"There's the door Joy, you go ahead." Brock said pushing Joy and Chansey ahead of him so that they could get out safely. They ran for the door and made it out. "Now run Joy, don't wait for me to catch up!" Brock yelled to her. Joy listened and ran as fast as she could for civilization. Brock started for the door as well when he heard a growl coming from behind him. "Vulpix...is that you?" He asked. Brock looked down at his pokemon and saw that she wasn't making any noise at all. Nervously, he turned around. Staring back at him were a pair of gleaming red eyes. Brock held up his torch to the eyes....and saw the monster. Its fangs were bared at him, blood trickled down from his lips and onto his fangs. Brock backed away from the creature, but it walked closer to him. He noticed its strong resemblance to a houndoom, only it seemed to have a human look to it as well. Brock recalled Vulpix quickly. His sudden movement caused the creature to snarl at him. The trainer backed away again. This thing looked like it was partially pokemon, so maybe he could catch it. Taking a poke ball from his belt, he prepared to throw it. "You're going down..." He said as he threw the ball at the monster. In an immediate reaction, the Were-houndoom smashed the ball to bits with its teeth. Without a second in between it lunged for Brock's outstretched arm, jaws open wide.

"YEEEAAAAAAHRRRGGHHH!" Brock's painful cry could be heard for miles.....

****

"Murkrow, get me the lyncanthropy potion." The old woman ordered. The bird flew over to the shelf and picked up one of the bottles. It then flew it back to the old woman. She took the bottle and then reached into her pocket and took out a shot, such as the kind used in a doctor's office. She opened the bottle and filled the shot with the liquid inside.

"You are very fortunate that I have some of this left, young lady." The woman told Misty. "The ingredients are very rare, one of them has to be a hair from Akuma himself." She handed the shot to Misty. "You must give this shot to him, child. But you must give it to him while he is in his Were-houndoom form. It will cure him of the curse."

"But it has to be given to him when he's still a were-houndoom?" Misty asked. 

"That's right." The woman answered. "Which is why normally there would be little hope of curing him....but from what you said, you seem to have a different effect on him. There could be a chance that you may be able to save him." The woman's face became stern. "But you must be careful. He is very unpredictable and may very well attack you." Misty clutched the antidote in her hand. 

"Then that's a risk I'll have to take. I'll do anything to save him."

"Good luck child." The woman said. The Murkrow on her shoulder cawed as a farewell. Pikachu smiled and said goodbye too. Misty stood from her chair and walked out the door, not knowing if she would live through all this....but knowing she had to take that chance.

****

__

The boiling anger...it was still there...could he never satisfy it? Kill...kill....KILL! The pain...it filled him when his lust was not fulfilled. The taste of blood filled his mouth...but the blood of all those humans was not enough. He could still remember them running, screaming...too panicked to escape with their lives. They were so much like the mareep had been... Slash! Crunch! One by one they fall....blood spilling, spraying, spurting everywhere. The taste of it invigorates him again....he must have more.... Yes, he could remember it clearly. That last one put up quite a fight...too good of a fight. There would be more....very soon there would be more.

****

Misty ran hard, panting as she went. Pikachu was leading, again on his trainer's faint scent. The trail took them far into the woods, past a dark pokemon center that they dared not enter...

Continuing to follow, they were lead deeper into the woods. Neither Misty nor Pikachu had any visual sign of Ash....until they came across a dead pidgey. Nothing was left of it but its head..... The two of them followed a trail of dead pokemon...each one worse than the other. Pikachu chuued sadly. Misty again felt tears coming to her eyes as she remembered that it was the boy she loved who had done this....

Many more dead bodies later, Misty and Pikachu still had not spotted Ash. Misty was getting worried, knowing that Ash could find them instead...and it would be all over. She prayed that she would save him...and promised that she would tell him her feelings no matter what after all of this. Suddenly Misty and Pikachu froze as they heard a demonic howl cutting through the chilled night air.... They knew who it was.

"Pikachu, that was Ash. Come on, follow where the sound came from!" Both tore in the direction of the howl. They kept running until they came to a large rock sticking out of the ground, forming a sort of wall. "Damn it, where is he?" Misty cursed. All of a sudden, a growling noise was heard from their right side. Their heads shot in that direction...then the noise was coming from the left. Misty and Pikachu scanned all around for Ash, but the growling was coming from all directions.... Misty's eyes were wide as she searched frantically....not wanting to be caught off guard. It was everywhere...he was everywhere...death was everywhere...Misty couldn't take it. Her head was spinning. She saw Ash laughing happily, heard his gentle voice, felt his warm touch....but all that was replaced in her mind by that horrible growl. Unable to bear the torture any longer, Misty clenched her fists, shut her eyes, and shouted to the sky....

"ASH!!"

All at once the growling stopped. Misty looked ahead of her and saw two red eyes appear out of the darkness. They moved closer and closer until Ash himself came into view, teeth bared. His eyes glowed an angry red and his black fur glistened in the night. In one of his massive hands he held a Meowth, scratched and bloody but still alive. It squirmed in a fruitless effort to escape. 

"Nyaa, nyanyanyaaaa!" It mewed in a terrified little voice. Ash's hand tightened its grip.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu acted immediately, sending a shock toward Ash. Ash howled as the electricity forced him to let go of his prey, dropping it to the ground. Misty turned to Pikachu. 

"Pikachu, get that Meowth to safety now!" She ordered. Pikachu looked unsure.

"Pikachupi...." He said worriedly. He knew that leaving her alone would be a terribly dangerous thing to do.

"Don't worry about me Pikachu! That pokemon needs your help. Bring it to someplace safe as fast as you can, and don't hesitate! Come on, go!" Pikachu nodded and ran to the Meowth. He helped it onto its feet and then used and agility attack to bring it far away from Ash.....

Ash, recovering from the shock, was now enraged that his prey had escaped. He turned to Misty, eyes glowing more furiously than ever....

****

__

How could this have happened....the prey had escaped! The killing instinct was punishing him now...filling his body with pain and anger....so many weak pokemon he had killed, their blood was hardly satisfying..... Such extreme anger....who had done this? Their blood would be the retribution for the kill he had lost. No....It was the female!! How was it possible? With a few words from her mouth she had heightened his anger to unbearable levels.....but she was his female, the one he had thought as his mate...no matter! She must be punished! The bloodlust came first and foremost. And now, it wished to be satisfied more than ever. Angry red filled his vision as he moved toward her.....

****

Misty saw Ash slowly advancing toward her, the blood on his fangs catching the moonlight. He opened his mouth and snarled at her viciously, spraying blood in her direction. She cowered and backed up...he kept coming closer....she moved until her back was pressed against the stone wall...she was trapped. Misty knew that if she ran he would be upon her in seconds and it would be all over. Staying by the rock would have the same outcome. Trembling, she tried to think of a way to stop him....nothing came to her. She looked into the eyes of the advancing beast and saw no trace of the one she loved....he had totally become this horrible monster. He was lost. Misty began to sob lightly.

"Oh god....Ash....look what's happened to you....you were such a wonderful person...now I've lost you. I've lost you forever....How could I have let this happen to you?" She spoke to him in a desperate, distraught voice. Tears ran down her face. "I'm so sorry Ash. Sorry for not helping you sooner, for not going with you when you needed me....I'm sorry for everything I've ever done to upset you." Misty looked deeper into his eyes, tears still pouring from her own. "This isn't the Ash I know, the Ash you are. You would never want to cause all of this pain and death. You act like you want to, but I know that deep inside you know it's wrong and you're fighting to stop it." Ash still stepped closer. Misty took another deep breath. "Go ahead and kill me Ash...do what you have to do. I'd rather die now than live with you like this.....but promise me that you will someday return to being the Ash I know....the Ash that I love..." Ash stopped in his tracks. The glow in his eyes seemed to fade a little...

****

__

She loves me....my female....Misty! She is Misty! Misty loves me.... No, love is a weakness, forget her and her silly feelings. Kill her now and get it over with... Must taste blood, must kill...must kill.....NO! I will not kill her! Yes, you must! I won't! How could you ask me to do that to her? It is not a request, kill her or you will suffer! Then let me suffer!!! I will not kill her, I cannot kill her....I love her! MISTY!!!

****

Misty watched as Ash fell to the ground, clutching his head in his hands and crying in pain. He lashed his head violently, saliva and blood flying from his fangs. Ash dug his claws into the ground and reared his head to the sky, letting out an anguished, pain-filled howl. He lowered his head then, and dropped to the ground. Misty saw the red from his eyes completely fade back to their deep brown color. Trembling, he lifted his black-furred head slightly off of the ground, looking at her desperately. He reached a shaking hand out toward her, then spoke in a coarse, deep voice that was more like a growl. 

"Misty...."

His hand dropped back to the ground along with his head. Misty rushed to his fallen body. She ran her hand through his hair again, and lifted his tired head onto her lap. She stroked the fur on his cheek and kissed the top of his black-haired head, soothing him with her words.

"It's going to be okay Ash, I'm here now...don't worry, it'll all be okay." Ash looked up at her with tired eyes, then reached out his hand and held hers. His eyes slowly closed themselves as his breathing finally relaxed. Misty pulled the shot from her pocket and held it to his shoulder. "It's almost over Ash....this will return you to normal...just stay calm, I'm here..." She injected the antidote into his body. The pain from the needle seemed to insignificant to him now..... All he felt was relief as his body started changing back. His giant limbs shrank back to their normal size and his claws reverted back into fingernails. The black fur all over his body disappeared, as did his tail. The silver cuffs and necklace dissolved and the horns on his head shrank back into his skull. His fangs became human teeth once again, his long snout shrank back into his face. A giant wave of relief swept over Ash as his transformation to human was finally finished. Though very tired, Ash was able to sit himself up so that he was at eye-level with Misty. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes.....and began to sob. He cried for all he had done...for the pain he had caused, for the lives he had taken. How could he ever go on with his life after doing that? Tears of grief and guilt continued to pour down his dirty face, and he continued to look at Misty. She gently touched his arm....and he threw himself into her awaiting arms, sobbing into her shoulder. She hugged him tight, rubbing her cheek against his and stroking his wild hair. She rubbed his back and rocked him, and he held her tightly as well. Misty then pulled back and began kissing his tears away, one by one...kissing his face until her lips found his.....

Epilogue coming soon!!

For those of you that may be upset by what happened to certain characters, remember that not all is as it seems.....


	4. Epilogue

Well this is the end of my Halloween fic. I hope you peeps didn't think that the 3rd chapter was rushed at all...but remember that the moon is full for only two nights! This was another one that was fun to write, though it took me a long time. Since ff.net decided to shut itself down again I don't know when I'll get it up there...it's so incompetent of them. Oh well....

Bitten Under the Moon: Epilogue

About a month later.....

It was quiet and peaceful in the pokemon center. Lots of trainers were sitting around, grooming their pokemon and making small talk. Misty sat on a bench, giving poliwhirl some water to keep his skin moist and sharing an ice cream cone with Togepi. Ash was next to her, quietly petting Pikachu, who was resting in his lap, using his cap as a pillow. He had an expressionless face as he stared down at the bright yellow fur of his pokemon. Misty looked at him with concern. 

"Are you okay Ash?" She asked. He looked up at her and smiled faintly. 

"Yeah, I'm alright....I'm just feeling guilty again, you know?" He answered softly.

"It's alright to feel guilty Ash...but Joy said not to let it consume you, remember? You had no control over yourself...." Ash had been in therapy with a Nurse Joy that was studying psychology for a while. She had really helped him feel better about the tremendous guilt that had weighed on his mind. At first, Ash didn't think he deserved to go on living. He believed that the lives he took should be avenged with his own. Joy, along with Misty, helped to remind him that he was not in control of his actions when it happened. They told him that he hadn't been himself...and taking his own life would not bring the others back. They also encouraged him by telling him that most impressive of all, he had been able to overcome it. Ash was feeling better about it, and no longer believed that he should die. But that didn't mean that the guilt wouldn't come back to haunt him. 

Ash leaned his head on Misty's shoulder. She leaned toward him and kissed the top of his head. 

"It's okay Ash...it's all over now. And at least we're still together." Ash smiled.

"Yeah...but what about Brock? Do you think he's mad at me? I mean...after what...I did to him?" Ash constantly worried about Brock. He had been hospitalized for weeks, suffering from a great amount of blood loss due to the loss of his arm. When Ash had attacked him, his jaws had latched onto nearly his entire arm. Brock had struggled with all of his might, pulling one way while Ash pulled the other. He had shaken his head violently, like a dog does when ripping up meat. This added with the stress of the pulling eventually led to the entire limb being ripped off. Though badly injured, Brock managed to force himself into one of the steel-door closets of the center while Ash was busy with his detached arm. He was found later by Nurse Joy, lying in a pool of his own blood. It was a miracle that he survived. This was one of the things Ash felt most guilty about. Though he felt horrible about the other lives he had taken, Brock was his friend. Ash knew that a part of his mind would never forgive those actions. Thankfully, Brock was recovering well, and the hospital even had plans to replace his arm with a bionic one soon. 

"Brock isn't mad at you Ash." Misty reassured. He knows that it wasn't your fault, and he doesn't blame you at all. It's like we keep telling you. He's been very glad that we visit him all the time. And don't forget that the Nurse Joy he rescued comes to see him every day too. I think that he's partially grateful to you for that Ash." She said this with a smile.

Ash and Misty visited him every day. Until he was better, they were staying in the local pokemon center. There Nurse Joy would give Ash a therapy session for two hours every day. It looked like he was on his way to recovering from all of this. He had even gone back to training his pokemon on occasion. But for the past month he had been very tired. He and Misty spent a lot of their time up in their room, and Brock worried about what went on in there when he heard about that. They reassured him that he had nothing to worry about, but Brock, pervert that he is, remained skeptical.

Misty looked at Ash's face and noticed that his eyelids were getting heavy. She cupped his face in her hand so that he would look at her.

"Do you want to go upstairs and rest?" She asked him gently. He smiled.

"Yeah, that would be nice." Ash answered. Misty looked at him lovingly and took his hand. The two of them stood. Pikachu jumped to the floor and carried Pikapi's cap for him. Togepi walked beside him, chirping happily along the way. The young couple made it upstairs to their room, where Ash relaxed himself on the bed, grateful for a pillow. Misty lay down beside him, and he immediately put his arm around her. She moved closer to him, and reached out to pull the covers over both of them. Ash used his other hand to stroke her red hair, and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Thank you..." He said to her softly.

"For what Ash?" Misty asked.

"For everything...you never gave up on me, even when it looked like I was going to kill you. You did all you could to save me, risking your life for mine. If it weren't for you, I would've gone on killing, only to wake up the next morning and have it happen again when the moon was full. You tamed the wild beast in me Misty.....only you could do that...Thank you for being there for me Mist....thank you for caring about me."

"You don't have to thank me Ash...I will always be there for you, and I will always care about you." She smiled. "It's my job." Ash smiled too and kissed her lips. 

"I love ya, Mist." He said.

"I love you too Ash." She whispered back. He looked into her eyes again and smiled...in an almost embarrassed way. 

"You know," He began. "When I was in my...Were-form...and I saw you for the first time...I got these feelings...they were weird. It was like....I don't know. I think that the houndoom in my mind wanted to....you know....mate with you or something." Misty saw that he was blushing while he spoke.

"Well, that's natural Ash." She answered. "You had your animal instincts, and they were very strong at the time. Who knows....maybe you will someday." She said with a smile. She giggled as his surprised face turned an even deeper shade of red. Ash didn't like getting teased like that. He got a mischievous grin on his face.

"Heh, maybe you're right..." He said, giving her a full kiss on the lips. Misty was shocked as she felt his tongue slip into her mouth....When he pulled away she was dizzy. She looked at his grinning face and smiled too.

"You animal..." Misty said slyly as she grabbed his face and eagerly went back to kissing him......

****

::later that evening, somewhere far away::

"I love da look of da full moon....." Meowth said yearningly as he gazed up at it. 

"Be quiet and eat your dinner Meowth." Jesse ordered. The two of them went back to eating their canned food. Jesse glanced over at James. He was sweating, and breathing hard.....while also staring at the moon.

"Jesse...I don't feel so good....."

The End!!

Hehe...typical scary story ending! No, I will not be continuing from there, sorry. I hoped you all liked this, I tried to make it slightly more...mature. As always, your comments and criticisms are appreciated. Farewell for now from the Wild Growlithe......


End file.
